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MMOGs Branch Out

Posted by Zonk on from the getting-out-and-seeing-new-people dept.

Via Kotaku, a Wall Street Journal article looking at ways the Massively Multiplayer genre are opening up to new players. Besides new game genres, the article discusses changes in revenue collection schemes. From the article: "The industry's traditional business model is to charge about $50 for the game software and a monthly subscription fee of about $15 for online play. That model has proved risky: When a game is highly popular, the monthly fees yield steady revenue streams for many years. Some of the industry's earliest hits, such as EverQuest, released in 1999, still have many users. But monthly fees have been "a significant barrier" to growing the market, said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, based in San Diego."

1 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. I'd play one of these by hattig · · Score: 2, Funny

    but:

    1) I'm shit at games
    2) I don't have much free time
    3) I'd get addicted and lose my job

    Would I be happier with a shittier job, a small residence and spending all my time playing games? Hmm...